Today Was a Fairytale
by xoxoRuflyGirl
Summary: Kelly and her boyfriend break up the day before Valentine's Day. She is alone and depressed that she has to spend yet another Valentine's Day alone. Also, she is confused my her realization that she is in love with Matthew. Does he feel the same?
1. Be Mine

_**Today Was a Fairytale**_

_**Chapter 1: Be Mine **_

"Hello, My Love!" I said as my boyfriend appeared at the door. I pulled him close, and kissed him sweetly on the lips.

He put his hands over my waist, and kissed me in return. "Hello, Beautiful."

I stepped back. "Come on in. I'm all ready for once!"

He stepped inside. "What? You mean I don't have to wait ten extra minutes for you?" He put his hand over his heart and gasped. "You better call 911. I think I'm having a heart attack!"

I shut the door, then turned to face him again. "Ha, ha! _You_ try being on time when you have to get two kids ready to go to their fathers, and then get ready yourself. It takes a while to look this good you know." Of course, I was only teasing at the last part. I primped my hair for show.

"You don't need any time at all. You're naturally beautiful!" he said to me.

I grinned. "Keep talking like that, and this date is going to go very well for you." I kissed him again.

He smiled, and kissed me yet again. "I'll most definitely keep that in mind!" He winked. "So, how are those adorable little babies of yours today?"

"They're great! Their father is taking them out to the dinner, then he is going to buy them both a new toy at the toy store. I think he's taking them out for ice cream after that. He spoils them so rotten, it's no surprise that they are thrilled when it's time to spend the weekend with him. I just hope his new girlfriend isn't planning on stopping by while they are there. I always worry they'll get attached to her, and have _two_ mothers that they love," I confessed.

He shook his head, and placed his hands around my waist again. "No one is as good of a momma as you! You're their only momma, and they know it!" He kissed my cheek.

I gently stroked his cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too!" he said, kissing my lips this time.

I smiled, then grabbed my purse.

"So, how was work today?" he asked as we headed out the door.

I smiled, and took his arm. "It was wonderful! Ed said something—I don't even remember what it was now—that had me laughing hysterically. Matthew then started to laugh because I was laughing so hard, and it made me laugh harder, which in return made him laugh harder. Ed looked at us both like we were crazy, and that made us laugh even harder yet! We both had tears in our eyes from laughing so hard."

He seemed to stiffen a bit.

"What?" I asked.

"Hm?" he asked in return.

I looked him in the eyes. "You suddenly just tensed. What's wrong?"

He shrugged. "I didn't even noticed I tensed. I must have gotten a chill or something."

"You should have worn a heavier coat!" I said as I shut and locked the door behind us.

He shrugged. "I have my scarf to keep me warm."

"If you say so," I said.

He put his hand over my lower back. "Do you want to walk or take a cab?"

"Well, since it's a little cold out today, let's just take a cab," I answered.

He nodded, but didn't say anything.

Something was off. "Is something wrong?" I asked him.

He looked at me. "No. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. You just seem off all the sudden," I answered.

"Because I'm cold?" he asked with a smirk.

"No, you just..." I sighed. "I don't know. I'm just being paranoid. Let's go eat."

He smiled, and then walked with me.

We walked a little ways in silence, then he hailed a cab, and we got in.

He told the cab driver where we were headed, and then we were off.

"I'm starved! Are you?" I asked, turning to him.

He shrugged. "A little I guess. I had a late lunch."

"Well, I hope you can eat something anyway! It's no fun eating alone," I told him with a wink.

He smiled. "Don't worry. You know me. I'll probably be hungry by the time we get there."

I laughed. "True!"

He grinned, but that was the end of our conversation until we got to the restaurant.

When we got there, he paid and tipped the driver, then helped me out of the car. She shut my door, and put his arm around me.

We walked into the restaurant, and they seated us in front of the fireplace.

"This is nice and cozy!" I said with a happy smile.

"Yeah. It will feel good to be nice and warm while we eat," he said, taking his menu and looking over it.

"Definitely," I agreed. "Matthew was so jealous when I told him we were going to eat here. He's been wanting to try this place out for a while now, but never got to it."

He glanced at me from the top of his menu. "You discuss what we do on our dates?"

I was a little shocked at his tone. "Well, no. I just casually mentioned that you and I were going out tonight, and he asked what we were doing. I told him we were going to eat here, and then I told him about the movie we were going to see. I only told him because he asked."

"Why would he even ask that anyway?"

I stared at my boyfriend, wondering if an alien had come down and taken his place. This was so unlike him to act that way!

I sighed, "Marcus, he was simply making conversation. I sometimes ask him what his and Leyla's plans are. It's no big deal. We're friends. Friends are curious about each other's lives."

Marcus shrugged. "I don't go asking _my_ colleagues their plans for the night."

I glared at him. "Well, Matthew and I are closer than you are to your colleagues."

I wondered why he was acting so funny. He hadn't even told me how beautiful I looked. I'm not a vain person. Don't get me wrong. It's just, I had on a new purple dress, and my hair was down in sexy waves. I thought he'd at least say _something_ about either one.

"Exactly how close are you two?" Marcus muttered under his breath.

I shot him a look. "What was that?"

"Nothing," he muttered.

We looked over our menus in silence, then ordered once our waiter came to take our orders.

He ordered the veal parmesan, a salad with French dressing, and a glass of red wine. I ordered the grilled chicken with green beans and white rice. I also ordered a glass of red wine.

"So, tomorrow's Valentine's Day," I said with a smile after the waiter had left. "It's a shame we both have to work." I took his hand in mine from across the table, and gently squeezed it. "It would be nice if we could spend the whole day together."

"Yeah," he said, though he didn't sound all that sincere.

I decided to call him on in. "What? You don't sound like that would be something you'd want."

"I'm just thinking how you might not really mind working since you'll be working with Matthew," he stated.

I didn't like his tone. "Well, yes, I do enjoy working with Matthew. He is a good friend, and he and I enjoy working together very much!"

He snickered. "I know_ that's_ right!"

"What do you mean by _that_?" I asked.

"Well, I don't think it's any secret how Matthew feels about you. Your fans all see it, and your fans are all for you two being together. To me, I'm just the bad guy old fart who's dating you," he said bitterly.

I smiled. So that was it. "Who cares what the fans think? True, you look a little older than you are, but you're only four years older than I am. I think you're incredibly sexy, and certainly not a bad guy or an old fart!" I squeezed his hand again.

He smiled at me. "Darn my stupid premature greying! I should dye my hair. Maybe that would help."

"I think grey is sexy—like George Clooney!" I said with a wink.

He smiled brighter yet. "Still, the fans clearly see the chemistry between you and Matthew."

"Well, a good share of them just think of us as the real life Rufus and Lily. They don't know either of us, and they don't know you. They just don't like you because, like you said, they want Matthew and I to be together. I wouldn't take it personal," I assured him.

"The thing is, I see it too. You two seem so happy together. In fact, sometimes I look at pictures of you two, or see you two together and think, gosh, why doesn't she ever look that happy in pictures with _me_? Why doesn't she laugh that hard when she is with _me_?" He sighed. "I torture myself sometimes."

I let go of his hand. "Well, you shouldn't! I think I look pretty darn happy in pictures with you! Besides, I should know better than anyone how I feel. I remember many times that I laughed so hard with you that I had tears streaming down my face."

"I know Matthew has feelings for you. There is no denying the way he looks at you," he said then.

I sighed. "Marcus, Matthew and I are just friends. You can't play into the hype of the media, or what the fans say. He's happily dating Leyla, and I'm happily dating you. He and I work together, and we've become very close. That is all there is to it."

The waiter came with our drinks then.

Marcus held up his hands to me. "You know what? Forget I said anything. You're right. I guess I just need to stop reading your fans' Twitter pages."

I smiled, relieved that he seemed to be dropping it. "That you do."

The waiter took off again after promising that our food would be out shortly.

I took both Marcus' hands in both of mine. "Listen, it's _you_ that I love. You make me very happy, and I don't care what my fans say, or what I look like in pictures, okay?"

He smiled, and gently squeezed my hands in return. "Okay." He kissed my hands, and then asked how my day was.

I smiled, and told him how it had gone, being careful not to mention Matthew too much. I just hoped the previous conversation was over with, because frankly, it was making me rather uncomfortable.

~Be Mine~

Dinner had been rather uncomfortable to say the least. Things were going well in our conversation again, and, hardly thinking about it, I wanted to talk about the fashion show Matthew and I had recently gone too. However, Marcus hadn't seemed the slightest bit interested in hearing about it. He had grown quiet, and picked at his food. He had grunted a response here and there, but, for the most part, he kept quiet. Half the time, he didn't even look at me. His face did light up when I asked him how his day had gone, and, also when we talked about how we were eager to watch the movie because a favorite actress of ours was in it. Still, it was just uncomfortable.

"Shall we order dessert?" I asked though I didn't know why I was asking. Dinner had been awkward as it was. At least in the theater we didn't have to talk.

"You can have some if you'd like. I think I'll pass. I'm kind of full. I'm sure we'll be getting snacks in the theater anyway," he said, patting his stomach.

"I don't want to be a pig. I'll just eat at the theater. Movie theater popcorn is always filling anyway!" I smiled. I didn't want one of our date nights to turn into an argument, so I tried to salvage it.

"You're not a pig! You have the figure of a model! If you want something, go right ahead! Maybe I'll feel like splitting with you once I see what delicious thing you got!" he said with a grin.

I relaxed a little, for his bad mood seemed to leave him. "Well, I'll only eat if you share. How about we get the cheesecake?"

He raised an eyebrow. "With chocolate sauce on top?"

I licked my lips. "Sounds good!"

And so we ordered our dessert.

We laughed and joked, and had the best conversation of the night as we waited for it to arrive. When it did, we continued talking, joking, and laughing, and enjoyed our dessert.

"So, are you ready to go see the movie?" he asked me once he had paid the bill and left the tip.

I linked my arm with his. "Lead the way, Kind Sir!" I said, goofing around.

He chuckled, and we kissed.

Then, we walked arm-in-arm to catch a cab to the theater. I just hoped his mood would stay improved. As much as I loved him, and as fun of a person he was for the most part, when he was in a bad mood, he was the very _last_ person I wanted to be with!

~Be Mine~

The movie was really romantic. It was a great movie to go to see with your boyfriend. Marcus and I split a popcorn, and we had our own sodas. We cuddled together during the movie, and everything felt normal again.

However, I made a mistake upon exiting the theater. I was't thinking, and I brought up Matthew again.

"I wonder if Matthew would like that movie or not. He isn't always into the romance movies, but I think he'd still like it." I don't know what had compelled me to say it. I was just thinking about our fun time we had at work today, and wondered what he would have thought about the movie.

Of course this made Marcus tense up again. He turned to me. "We need to talk."

I was quiet for a moment. "Okay..." I didn't really know what else to say. "About what?"

"Let's just wait until we get back to your place," he said coldly.

I sighed. "All right."

So, we caught a cab, and rode all the way back to my place in silence. It was the most awkward ten minutes of our whole relationship.

By the time we got back to my place, I was just eager to have our talk and be done with it. I couldn't stand the awkward silence any longer.

I sat down on the couch, waiting for him to speak.

He sat down on the arm chair in front of me. "We need to talk about us."

"What about us?" I asked calmly.

"Well, we've been together for a year, and not much has changed since when we first started dating. True, we now go on weekend trips together a lot, but that's basically just doing what we do here, only with different scenery, and different places to do things," he began.

"Well, where do you think we _should_ be in our relationship?" I asked.

He sighed. "I don't know. I guess it's more of..." He trailed off, then began again. "I thought by now we'd be closer emotionally than we are now. I mean, it's been a year, and, sure we love each other, but, do we really feel all that more passionately about each other than we did a year ago?"

I thought about it for a moment. Now that he mentioned it, I couldn't really think of that much of a difference. "Well, now we get together more, we go on trips together, and I feel we know each other better now as well."

"But, do you feel the passion?" he asked me.

"Well, I know I love making love with you, and I love kissing you. You're great in both aspects." I grinned and winked at him.

He smiled. "I love making love to you and kissing you as well. Trust me, you're amazing in both aspects." His expression turned serious then. "But, do you really feel head over heels in love with me? Do you feel like you can't live without me? That you'd be lost and miserable without me? Could you actually see yourself ever marrying me one day?"

I thought about it hard. I didn't want to say out loud what I was thinking. The truth was, I did love Marcus, but it wasn't to the point where I'd go into a deep depression if I didn't have him anymore. Sure, I'd be upset for a while, but I knew I'd make it without him. I didn't need him to be fulfilled. I loved having him around, and I loved having a boyfriend. But, would I die without him? No. Did I feel the absolute need to marry him and be with him forever? Well, I guess I could see him being my boyfriend forever, but did I want him as my husband? The fact was, right now, that really wasn't what I wanted. I had already been through two marriages, and didn't really feel like complicating things anymore. Why couldn't things stay the same between us? Why did marriage have to be a factor?

"Your silence says it all," he said sadly.

"It's not that I don't love you. I do. It's just... I don't know if I ever want to be married again. I'm happy just having you to hang out with and..." I cut myself off, not wanting to say it out loud because I knew it would come out badly.

"Fulfill your needs as a woman?" he asked. "I stop you from being lonely, and fulfill your womanly needs when we make love. I'm basically a companion with benefits."

I shook my head. "I love you. I'm not just using you."

He scooted closer to the end of the seat, and took my hands in his. He kissed them. "I know you're not using me. We just want two different things is all. I want to be with someone who wants to get married and have the white picket fence. Who knows? Maybe down the road it might even be nice to have a child."

"I certainly don't want another child. I have my hands full as is!" I said. I blushed. It had just come out. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize!" he said. "You're being honest! I never want you to apologize for feeling the way you feel. We want different things in life. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that."

"You just seemed so upset tonight," I said quietly.

He grinned. "That's just me being a jealous old coot! Whether you see it or not, you and Matthew have something between you more than just friendship. I know neither of you would act on it right now. Matthew is dating Leyla, and he is very respectful to me. I also know you would never cheat on me."

I nodded in confirmation. "I would never do that to you."

He nodded as well. "I know. But I also know that Matthew makes you happy. Heck, I know you're happiest with him._You_ may not see it yet, but I sure do, and I know a lot of other people do too."

"Matthew and I are just friends," I reminded him.

"Let's put it this way. Think of marrying Matthew. How would that make you feel?" he asked.

I thought about it. The thought instantly gave me butterflies. "Oh." I said.

He nodded, a solemn expression on his face. "That's what I thought."

"It doesn't matter anyway. He's with Leyla, and I'm with you. I'm just close to him is all. He's such a good friend, and—" I cut myself off, then sighed. I looked at him, tears in my eyes. "You're breaking up with me, aren't you?"

He nodded. "I think it's for the best. I think we are better off just being friends. It's nothing either of us did wrong. It's just like I said."

"We want different things," I said quietly.

He nodded, then stood up.

I stood up as well.

He cleared his throat. "I'm telling you this because I want to see you happy. If you tell Matthew how you feel about him, I know he'll be yours in a heartbeat."

"But I love you," I told him.

"Who would you save if Matthew and I were drowning on different sides of the ocean, and you only had time to save one?" Marcus asked me.

I didn't even have to think before coming up with the answer in my head.

I hugged Marcus tightly, tears streaming down my cheeks. "Goodbye, Marcus."

He held me tight, then held me at arms length. I could see the tears in his eyes as well. "Don't be sad." He wiped away my tears with his thumbs. We'll both be okay. Like I said, we can still be friends, right?" He smiled.

I nodded. "We _better_ be!"

He grinned.

"Can I just ask what brought this on all the sudden?" I knew it was an odd time to ask, but I had to know.

He smiled weakly. "Let's just say that, ever since we met, the majority of what you had to say included the name Matthew. It's been getting more frequent as of late. You now, a big part of the reason I got a Twitter is so that I could keep my eye on your and Matthew's tweets to each other. The media used to say how you guys would flirt up a storm on Twitter. It wouldn't surprise me if that is why Leyla got on Twitter too. Anyway, like I said, you talk about Matthew a _lot_, and I've been thinking about it for a while now. I guess tonight was just the last straw. I was going to wait until after Valentine's Day, but why spend the day living in a lie?"

I sighed, and looked away. "Valentine's Day is stupid anyway."

He smiled sadly then lifted my chin up with his index finger, and kissed me slowly and softly on the lips. "Goodbye, Kelly," he said after breaking the kiss.

"Goodbye, Marcus," I whispered back.

And then he walked out my door, and disappeared down the street without ever looking back.

I shut and locked the door behind him, then rested my back against the door. Tears started running down my cheeks again. I then sank to the floor, buried my face in my hands, and sobbed.

It looked like I'd be spending yet another Valentine's Day alone just when I thought I'd finally have someone to spend it with. And for what? A relationship that could never be? Matthew was with Leyla. If he wanted me, wouldn't he have told me? We always just laughed about it when people suggested that we become a couple. Now who was laughing? Not me. _I_ was crying all by myself, boyfriend-less the night before Valentine's Day. And I knew that tomorrow, Valentine's Day, would be no different. How depressing was that? The thought made me cry even harder.

Eventually, I got myself up, and dragged myself into the bathroom. I ran the tub water as warm as I could stand it, poured some bubble bath in, stripped off my clothes, then sank into the tub. A warm bath always helped me forget everything, and, tonight, that is what I planned on doing—forgetting everything. Of course, eventually, I'd have to get out of the water, and my problems would come rushing back to me. But, just for a half hour or so, I was going to just relax, and forget Marcus, forget Matthew, forget Leyla, and just forget the world. There was always tomorrow to be depressed, which being boyfriend-less and alone on Valentine's Day, I most definitely would be.

I sighed. Why did love and life have to be so complicated? Then, a strange thought entered my head that surprised even me. _And why can't Matthew just be mine?_


	2. I'm Yours

_**Today Was a Fairytale**_

_**Chapter 2: I'm Yours**_

I sat in my apartment, looking at Kelly's Website. She was so beautiful. I secretly had a crush on her. In fact, it go so bad that my girlfriend and I broke up over it. It was I who had dumped her. At the risk of sounding like a jerk, I was just getting bored with our relationship. We had just passed our two-year mark, and nothing had really changed. We were basically just friends with benefits, and we both knew it. We weren't right for each other. Most of the time, we either had different things to do, or just flat our had other things we'd rather do without the other.

I was a little sad, but mainly sad because I'd be alone on Valentine's Day. Though, I guess it wasn't really so much the being alone part that got me down. I had friends, and many them were single too. It was more about one particular friend not being single this Valentin's Day. I kept imagining all these romantic and sexual things she'd be doing that day with her boyfriend, and it just made me sick.

Of course, Kelly is that friend. I hated that she was dating Marcus. It had been easy to deny my feelings for her at first. I had Leyla, and she had Marcus. Heck, I even had fun hanging out with her and Marcus. But then I started getting jealous that he got to be the one to kiss her. That he got to be the one to take her on weekend getaways. That he got to take her home and make love with her. That he was the one she'd bring home after a date. My feelings for Kelly and my sadness and frustration that she was dating Marcus just built up so much that I just didn't want to bother with Leyla anymore. I just didn't have it in me to fake it anymore.

Don't get me wrong. I did care about Leyla, and I'd even go as far as to say I loved her as a person. She is an amazing girl, and I knew any guy would be lucky to have her. She just wasn't the right girl for _me_. I saw her as an amazing friend who was a blast to hang out with, and someone whom it was nice making love with. But, when it came to having a deep, romantic connection? No. I just didn't have that with her, and I was pretty sure she didn't have that connection with me either.

When I broke up with her, it was almost as if she had been waiting for it. It was as if she knew it was coming, and had for a while.

I thought back to a few weeks ago when I had broken up with her.

_"May I ask why?" she asked._

_ "I'm just not feeling the connection with you. We've been dating for over two years now, and I just don't feel that head over heels in love feeling. Do you?" I asked her._

_ She thought about it for a moment, then shook her head. "I love you. I enjoy hanging out with you."_

_ "But do you feel the connection between us?" I asked her again._

_ She sighed, then slowly shook her head. "No, now that you mentioned it. I just figured we were hitting a dry spell, or that it was just me, but now that I know you don't really feel the connection either..." She trailed off, then sighed. "So, what should we do now? Break up?"_

_ I looked away for a moment. "I don't really see why we should stay together if we're not feeling it anymore."_

_ "I guess you're right. I mean, when we make love, it's basically just for fun now. It feels more like sex than lovemaking, actually," she confessed._

_ I grinned at her. "I'm so glad I'm not the only one who feels that way. I was beginning to feel like a jerk!"_

_ "Oh, you're still a jerk. I'm just saying I felt a lack of connection too," she said._

_ I didn't know what to say to that._

_ Her serious expression broke into a grin. "Relax! I'm joking with you."_

_ "Oh." I grinned. _

_ "Don't feel bad. The good thing about us both not feeling a connection anymore is no hard feelings. Right?" she asked._

_ I nodded. "Right! We just grew apart. A lot of couples grow apart."_

_ She raised an eyebrow at me. "Can we still be friends?"_

_ "You know it!" I told her with a grin._

_ She grinned too, and we embraced. We held each other for a long time, then she kissed my cheek. She hadn't even given me one last kiss on the lips. I supposed, there really wasn't much point to it anyway, when breaking up._

_ "Goodbye, Matthew," she said quietly._

_ "Goodbye, Leyla," I said, matching her quiet tone. "See you around."_

_ She smiled. "See you around." She then grabbed her bag, and took off._

_ I sighed, watching her shut the door behind her. I was sad to see her go, but it had to be done. It was better for both of us in the end._

Now, here I was, pining over Kelly, a woman who was already taken. She always told the media that she and I were just friends. She'd even laugh about it with me when people suggested we should date each other.

The truth was, she was the one laughing. I was only laughing because that's what she expected me to do.

The time that hurt the worse is the time she said we'd never date, or that we loved each other too much to date. That basically said to me that, yes, she does love me, but not in the way that I want her to.

I sighed. Now, it was torture hanging out with her. For instance, we went to a fashion show together the other day, and, though I should have been happy to be with her, which I was, I was still a little sad. I couldn't help but think that, though she was there with me, it was Marcus she'd be going back to.

I sighed, and continued to look at my computer screen, which was displaying the picture of Kelly on her home page. She was in a sexy purple dress. It made me sick thinking of her buying it to wear for Marcus. Her hair even looked messy in the picture—like she had just made out with him, or worse, made love with him.

My stomach churned at the thought. I bet he'd have plans to get her out of that dress as soon as she put it on. He probably already had. What hurt even worse than that was knowing that she had probably bought that dress with that in mind.

I sighed, then shut out the widow. I needed a warm shower to try to get them off my mind. I just wish I didn't have to work with her tomorrow. The last thing I felt like hearing about was hers and Marcus' plans for Valentine's Day.

~I'm Yours~

All day at work, Kelly didn't seem herself.

I came up to her before she left for the day. "Are you all right." I placed a hand over her shoulder. It just seemed like the right thing to do.

She looked at my hand, then at me. For a split second, she looked like she was going to burst into tears. But then she smiled. "I'm fine. It's just kind of a stupid holiday that always ends up making me feel like a loser."

I scrunched my eyebrows. "What? You? A loser? Please! You're the total opposite of a loser."

She smiled. "Thanks."

"I'm sure you'll feel much better when you're out with Marcus," I reasoned. I didn't much feel like thinking of her out with him, but I wanted to cheer her up. I hated seeing her so sad.

"Actually, Marcus and I broke up yesterday," she confessed.

I felt my heart pounding. "What? Why?"

"We just realized we were stuck in a rut. We weren't really going anywhere in our relationship," she explained. "We wanted different things. We're still friends though."

"It's kind of the same reason Leyla and I broke up," I told her.

She looked surprised. "What? You two broke up? When? You didn't tell me that!"

"We broke up a few weeks ago. We weren't really going anywhere either. Actually, I don't think we were in love with each other anymore. Maybe we never really were," I confessed.

"Well, I guess this day is going to suck for both of us then," she quipped. "I'm sorry."

I shrugged. "Don't be. These sort of things just happen. She and I are still going to be friends too, so that helps a lot. Besides, I was never really big on Valentine's Day."

She sighed. "Me neither, really. In fact, I'll be happy just hanging out with my children at home and baking cookies. It's just when you see all these couples being all lovey dovey and mushy, it gets to me, not having a boyfriend."

I grinned. "Don't worry. After Valentine's Day, all the lovey dovey couples all go back to fighting and getting on each other's nerves."

She laughed. "Good point! Valentine's Day is kind of pointless and trivial, isn't it?" she asked. "I mean, people should love each other _every_ day. Not just one set aside date."

I nodded. "Exactly!"

She smiled. "Well, I had better be going. I have to pick up the are just finishing up a long weekend with their father. I love it when I get to have them back. At least that's one good thing about today!"

"Yeah," I agreed. "So, you'll be spending all night at your place?"

She nodded. "Yep! Once the kids go to bed at eight, I'll be all alone. Maybe I'll take a bubble bath and put on some non love song music. That will make me feel better."

I grinned. "Heavy metal will take your mind off of love!"

She laughed. "Right, and ruin my relaxation in the process. I'm thinking Kelly Clarkson should be a good one to listen to."

I kissed her cheek. "Well, have a good night then."

She kissed my cheek in return. "You too, Matthew." She turned to leave then.

"Kelly?" I called out, stopping her.

She stopped, and looked over her shoulder at me. "Yes?"

"Happy Valentine's Day," I said to her.

She smiled. "Happy Valentine's Day, Matthew." And then she was gone.

I watched her disappear, and couldn't help but feel a little giddy. She and Marcus had broken up! I didn't want her to be sad, but this was a very good thing for me.

An idea popped into my head then, and I suddenly knew just what to do to cheer her up! I also had a hidden agenda that was a little selfish, but it would benefit us both if it worked out the way I wanted it to.

With a whistle, and a sprint in my step, I headed out of the studio to go put my plan into action.

~I'm Yours~

I waited until eight thirty. I wanted to give her her time with her kids. I also wanted to make sure the kids would be in bed since my presence might make them want to stay up. I knew Kelly wouldn't be angry if I made them want to stay up, but I knew she'd prefer they go to bed when they were supposed to, so I waited.

As soon as eight-thirty hit though, I knocked on her door.

I heard Oliver barking. Thankfully, Kelly opened the door before he could wake the kids.

"Matthew!" she said, her face displaying surprise. She smiled brightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I figured, I'm alone on Valentine's Day night, you're alone on Valentine's Day night... Why not make us un-alone on Valentine's Day night?"

She laughed. "You know, you've got a good point! Come on in!"

"Thank you!" I said, stepping into her house.

She shut and locked the door behind her. "You came at a good time. They kids were just put down to bed about fifteen minutes ago. It's hard getting them down sometimes."

I nodded. "That's why I waited. I figured it might be harder for you to get them down if they knew I was here."

"You're right—it would have been. Thank you for waiting," she said.

"You're welcome!" I said.

"What do you got there?" she asked, nodding at the bag in my hand.

I grinned. "I'm glad you asked! First, I dug into my bag and pulled out a dozen red roses. I had them on top so that they wouldn't get crushed. "They are long-stem and thornless," I explained.

"Matthew! That's so sweet of you! Thank you!" She kissed my cheek. "I'm going to go put these in water. They are too beautiful to risk them drying out. I'll be right back."

I nodded. "Okay."

She went into the kitchen, and came back a minute later after getting the roses in a water-filled vase.

By then, I had pulled out a heart-shaped box of assorted Lindor's Lindt Truffles. I handed them to her.

She grinned widely, and took them from me. "Also for me? Oh my gosh, thank you! That's so sweet of you! _I_ didn't get _you_ anything. Now I feel bad."

"Don't feel bad! I surprised you." I then pulled out a bottle of pink Champaign. "Since it's Valentine's Day." I winked at her.

"You're amazing. You know that?" she asked me.

I grinned. "I try," I joked.

I then pulled out a DVD. "I rented this," I explained.

She looked at it, then raised an eyebrow at me. _My Bloody Valentine_?"

I grinned. "It's sticking with the spirit of Valentine's Day without the love and mushy crap!"

She laughed. "All right! I'm liking where you're going with this!"

I grinned, then pulled out a pink stuffed kitty with a heart shaped nose. It had a cute red sweater that had _Happy Valentine's Day_ written on it. "This is for Helena," I explained.

"Aw! You're a doll! She'll love that!" Kelly said, taking it from me, and setting it down on the armchair.

"And this one is for Hermés," I said, handing her a red stuffed dog with a heart shaped nose and white sweater that also read_ Happy Valentine's Day_.

"You are too much!" Kelly said with a smile. Of course, I knew she meant it in a good way. She set the dog down next to the cat. "He'll love it too. You didn't have to do that, you know. Thank you so much!"

"I wanted to. I love those kids," I said with a smile.

She kissed my cheek. "They love you too."

I smiled, and set the bag down. "Wanna watch the movie?"

She nodded. "You bet!"

"You look beautiful," I told her.

She looked down at her attire, and blushed. "I'm just wearing my Valentine's Day pajamas," she said. "My hair's even in a ponytail!"

"But they are cute!" I said sincerely. They were pink silk with red hearts and the words _Happy Valentine's Day_ all over them in red. "You're beautiful no matter what you wear or how your hair is."

"Your earning a lot of kisses tonight!" she said with a grin before kissing my cheek again.

I grinned. "Well, it _is_ Valentine's Day." I winked at her. "And, hey, at least _you're_ festive. I'm just wearing my jeans and a dark grey T-shirt." I looked down at my own attire.

"Well, I think you look sexy." She looked away and blushed at her own words, and pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She then looked at me again. "Did you eat dinner yet?"

I nodded. "I just had some pizza."

She laughed. "That's what the kids and I had as well. I was going to offer you our leftovers, but, since you already had pizza, why don't I just get us some popcorn and soda, and then we can crack into the Pink Champaign and chocolates for dessert?"

I nodded. "That reminds me! I headed to the bottom of the bag, and pulled out two containers. One was filled with strawberries, and the other was filled with hot fudge.

"What are those?" she asked.

"Strawberries and hot fudge!" I said with a grin. "I figured we can have these too."

She took them from me. "I'll go get us some plates. That bag of yours is like the never ending bag!"

I laughed. "Yeah, it holds a lot more than it looks like it does. It's all about the way you pack it too."

"Well, you must be a professional packer then," she said from the kitchen. "Because I don't think _I_ could have fit all that into one bag."

"I'm not a Packer. I actually suck at football. My brothers would always crush me at it when we played games at home," I teased.

She laughed from the kitchen. "Not that kind of Packer, you Jokester!"

I grinned.

"Can I help you with anything?" I called in.

"No, I got it!" she answered. "I don't want you having to do anything but relax. It's the least I can do after you brought me all these treats!"

"I don't mind helping, really!" I insisted.

"Sit!" she ordered. "Relax! I'll be there in a moment." She said it kindly of course.

"If you insist," I said.

"I do," she called back.

So, I sat down on the couch, and relaxed as ordered.

I was glad to see there were no pictures of Marcus and her around. I don't know if there never had been, or if she had taken them down now that she and he had broken up. Either option was fine with me.

She came back moments later with our treats.

She set everything down on the coffee table, then took out the DVD, and popped it in. She turned off the lights, then got onto the couch with me. "Do you mind eating in the dark?" she asked.

"Not at all!" I said. Being alone in the dark with Kelly on the couch? Like I was going to complain!

"Wait! We have to put our 3-D glasses on," I said, taking the glasses from the case, and handing her a pair.

"This is in 3-D?" she asked.

I nodded.

"I hope these don't make the blood look like it's spilling out at you. That would be gross while we're trying to eat!" she said with a giggle.

I laughed. "At least we know it's all fake."

"Yeah, but still. It gives me the heebie jeebies!" she said, shaking.

I laughed.

We watched the movie then, and had our popcorn and soda.

She shrieked at a few parts, and I laughed. At one point, some of her popcorn even fell out of her bowl and to the floor when she jumped.

I laughed at her.

"Shut up!" she said, playfully pushing me. "This movie is scary!"

We finished our popcorn and soda, and moved onto the strawberries and hot fudge. She had reheated the hot fudge so that it was nice and warm for us.

"Mm," she said. "These strawberries are delicious!"

I watched her as she licked her lips. I'd imagine she'd be even more delicious than the strawberries if I kissed her. I wished I could.

She finished her strawberries, as did I.

"Do you want a blanket?" she asked me.

"Sure," I said, for it was getting slightly chilly in there.

She reached behind the couch and grabbed a blanket. Then, she wrapped it around us both. "Good?" she asked me.

"Perfect!" I said with a grin. She had no idea how perfect I found it.

We finished the rest of the movie, and I was happy for the scary parts of the movie, for those were the parts she had grabbed onto me, and held me close. In fact, when the movie ended, I found myself disappointed that it was over.

She got up and took the DVD out, then put it back in the case with her 3-D glasses. I handed her mine, and she put mine in there as well, then snapped the case shut.

She turned he television off, then turned to me. "Now what?"

I stood up. "Now, we dance!"

She giggled. "Dance? Where?"

"Well, we can dance right in this room," I said, gesturing around the family room that we were in. "All we have to do is move the coffee table out of the way a bit."

"Well, I do have a cello music CD that is great for Valentine's Day. It's full of love songs." She blushed. "Then again, we're kind of doing the anti-love thing, aren't we?"

I smiled. "I think we can make the exception just this once." I winked at her. "Besides, I love you."

She smiled, and placed her right hand over her heart. "Aw! I love you too."

If only she loved me in the way that I loved her...

"I have my own CD though," I told her. "It's a mix CD full of love songs."

She smirked, and raised an eyebrow. "In your never-ending bag?"

I laughed. "That'd be the one!"

She grinned, and held out her hand.

I went into my bag and took out the CD, then handed it to her.

I then moved the coffee table while she turned the lights and the CD player on. She kept the player at a comfortable volume so as not to wake the kids, and pressed play.

"Can I have this dance, Beautiful?" I asked her, holding out my hands in a waltz-like fashion.

She grinned, then curtseyed. "Why, yes, Kind Sir, you may!" She giggled.

I grinned too, then we danced. I don't know if we were actually waltzing, for I don't think either of us would ever consider ourselves ballroom dancers, but I'd like to think we held our own just fine.

We looked into each other's eyes the whole time, laughing if we missed a step.

"Don't step on my toes!" she said with a laugh.

"I'm not! Don't you step on mine! At least you're not wearing heels," I told her.

She laughed.

At one point, I sang along to one of the songs.

She smiled as we spun around, and I sang to her.

"Too corny?" I asked, and eyebrow raised, when I finished the song.

She smiled. "No. You have a beautiful voice. I love hearing you sing to me."

"Well, then I'll have to be sure to do it more often," I told her with a wink and a smile.

"I guess you will!" she said, smiling and winking back at me.

We danced to a couple songs, then she gave up.

"All right, as much fun as I'm having, I think I've had enough dancing for one night."

"All right," I agreed.

She turned off the CD, then came back to me. "Thank you for doing this for me tonight, Matthew. You have no idea how much it means to me that you cared enough about me to do this for me. Believe it or not, it's the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."

I gently stroked her cheek. "You deserve to be happy, Kelly. Besides, it was a little selfish on my part."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh? How so?"

"Well, being with you makes me happy. In fact, I feel I'm happiest when I'm with you," I confessed.

She looked away, and, for a moment, I thought I had crossed the line. I didn't have to worry though, for she quickly looked back at me, and eased my fears with her words. "I'm happiest when I'm with you too."

We looked each other deep in the eyes, and then it happened. I don't know who went in for it first, but we ended up kissing—slow and cautious at first, then more passionate.

When we broke the kiss, she smiled at me. She rested her forehead against mine, and placed her hands over my cheeks. "What just happened?"

"I think he just kissed," I told her.

She raised an eyebrow and smirked. "You _think_?"

I laughed. "Shut up! You know what I mean."

"Why did we kiss?" she asked.

I hesitated for a second, but her having kissed be back gave me the strength I needed to confess to her how I felt about her. "Well, I can't speak for you, but I have feelings for you. I have for a long time now. In fact, that's part of the reason I broke up with Leyla—she wasn't you, and I wanted you. I know you had Marcus, but..." I trailed off.

"But that doesn't matter now, does it?" she asked.

I shook my head. "No, I guess not."

"You wanna know a secret?" she asked me.

It was I who raised an eyebrow this time. "What?"

"Part of the reason Marcus and I broke up is he knew that I had feelings for _you_ that were deeper than the feelings I had for _him_," she confessed.

I felt my heart pound faster. _Could it be true?_

As if reading my thoughts, she spoke again. "You wanna know what else?"

"What? I asked in practically a whisper.

She brushed her lips up against my right ear. "He was right. I've had feelings for you for a very long time now. I just figured you didn't want me in return because you'd always laugh about it when someone brought the idea of you and I being together up."

"I only laughed because _you_ did. I had feelings for you, but you always had someone else," I confessed.

"Because you always had someone else too! I guess, apart of me was also worried that, if we got together and broke up, and it ended badly, I'd lose you. I couldn't bear to lose you." She had tears in her eyes.

"Kel, you'd never lose me! You want to know why?" I asked.

"Why?" she whispered.

"Because I couldn't bear to lose you either! I love you." It felt good to finally just come out and say it.

She smiled. "Oh, Matthew!" She pulled me close, then we kissed again, this time even more passionate than the last.

We were both gasping for breath when we broke the kiss.

"We should have done that a long time ago," I told her.

She laughed. "Yes, we should have."

"I want to kiss you again," I confessed.

"Well, that's good, because I want to kiss you again too," she confessed in return.

We grinned at each other, then kissed some more. This time, it took us back to the couch.

I lay her down beneath me, and our kisses got even more heated.

She moaned as I slipped my hand up her shirt, loving the softness of her skin.

I slowly trailed my hand up her stomach and over her rib cage. I ran my hand over her bra, and then we were taking each other's shirts off. It was all happening so fast.

"Kelly, wait!" I then said just as she said, "Matthew, wait!"

Then, still in unison, we said, "I think we're taking this too fast!"

We both laughed.

"I just don't want to rush things. I've rushed it with all my other relationships, and I just don't want to do that with you. I love you too much to risk screwing this up," she said to me, gently stroking my cheek.

"That's exactly how I feel," I said in all sincerity. "We'll take it slow, and, when the time comes for us to move further, we will. But only when we're both sure we're ready," I said.

She nodded. "And only when there isn't a risk of the children walking in on us at any moment."

I laughed. "That too!"

We grinned at each other, then sat up, and put our shirts back on.

"Hey, we didn't even dig into my truffles yet!" Kelly said.

"They're for you! I don't want to eat them on you," I told her.

"Oh, please! This thing is huge! There is no way I'm going to eat it all by myself. You have to have one," she said, opening up the tin, and then a truffle. She handed the truffle to me. "Here. Eat."

I grinned. "Well, if you insist."

She grinned. "I do."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why do I feel a sudden sense of déjà vu?"

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "Just eat one."

I ate it, and she ate hers.

"Mm!" we both said at the same time, then grinned.

"There's two strawberries left. We can each have one," she said.

"I'm gonna have to go to the gym after all this fatty food we've been eating!" I said, patting my stomach.

She smirked. "You're the one who brought it! Besides, the nice thing about living in New York City is that you get to walk it all off."

"True," I said.

"Here." She held out a hot fudge-covered strawberry to my lips, and I ate it.

"Mm," I said, licking my lips. "Delicious! My turn to feed you." I took a strawberry, dipped it in the hot fudge, then brought it to her lips.

She opened her mouth and ate it. "Mm, _so_ delicious!" she agreed.

I smirked.

"What?" she asked with a nervous laugh.

"You got chocolate on your mouth," I told her.

"Where?" She licked all around her mouth. "Did I get it?"

I shook my head. "No, right there." I pointed.

"Where?" she asked, still trying to lick it, and still missing it.

"Here. I'll get it," I told her. I then leaned in, and kissed it off her, letting my tongue glide over the chocolate spot. "There. It's gone."

Her eyes lowered. "_I'm_ going to kiss _you_ now," she said.

"Why? Do I have chocolate on my lips as well?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No, I just want to kiss you."

I grinned. "I won't argue with that!"

She grinned too, and then we kissed some more.

"Mm, Kel?" I asked after breaking a particularly delicious kiss, because, let's face it, she most definitely was more delicious than the hot fudge-dipped strawberries.

"Hm?" she asked.

I smiled, and gently stroked her cheek. "You said you felt bad you didn't get me anything, but there is one thing you can get me that would make things all better."

She smiled. "Oh yeah? What's that?"

"I want _you_. After all, you're the best Valentine's Day present a guy could get—especially me, who has been pining after you since as long as I can remember!"

She grinned, and gently pushed me down onto my back on the couch. She hovered over me, and, right before she gave me a kiss that was more passionate than any kiss I'd ever been given, she said the two words I'd been dying to hear from her for the longest time. "I'm Yours."

~*The End*~


End file.
